nutrition

whole30: day four.

Posted on by thedingismything

Alright. Most days this week, I’ve been a little gloomy. Self-pitying, even. But not today.

Today, I gotta brag.

Day 4 was a home run, guys. Start to finish, I think it was my best day yet.

For breakfast, I had diced potatoes and bell peppers, my new favorite Whole 30 compliant chicken sausage and an egg. Lunch was half a bell pepper filled with tuna salad (with my homemade mayo I made for Day 1. And dinner was … well. Dinner was amazing.

I found this recipe for Loaded Turkey Stuffed Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes on paleOMG.com and thought that with a name like that, you really couldn’t go wrong.

Holy smokes, it was every bit as good as it sounded. And easy, too!

The recipe called for the traditional yellow sweet potatoes, but I’m a sucker for the orange ones. (I think these are technically yams?) I followed the writer’s instructions exactly, and it all worked out perfectly. Her suggestion about not getting too close to the skin when scooping out the ooey gooey yummy middles was spot on.

The turkey is seasoned with chili powder, paprika and an alarming amount of hot sauce. We used Cholula because it’s Whole 30 compliant. I was a wee bit worried, but the sweetness of the potato balanced out the heat nicely.

After I stuffed the filling in the potatoes and popped them back in the oven, I threw some Brussels sprouts in a pan to get something green on the plate. Super simple to make in a dash: just cut ‘em in half, add them to a hot nonstick pan with a smidge of coconut oil, add a little S&P and don’t let them burn. Although, personally, I like a little char on mine.

PhotoGrid_1459539583888

This dinner was a success, and The Husband already asked if we can make this even after Whole 30. Um. I want to eat it again tomorrow night!

20160331_195816
?

So one quick note for anyone thinking of reasons NOT to do Whole 30. I’m guessing this all sounds like it takes a lot of time to prepare everything, and you might be thinking you don’t have hours to dedicate to cooking each day. I thought the same thing at first, too. But I’ve learned quickly that there are some easy shortcuts that will help for those days when you’re pressed for time. One of the biggest, easiest tips is to make a dinner that is big enough so there will be leftovers you can pack for lunch the next day. If you don’t like eating the same thing twice, then you’re not making food that is yummy enough. I could eat those flipping stuffed sweet potatoes every darn day.

I’m going to be totally honest. Remembering to prep your food ahead of time is the hardest part. The night of Day 3, we were settled on the couch watching TV when I remembered I didn’t have anything put together for lunch the following day. It was 9:30 at night, but I got up and whipped up my tuna, stuffed it in the bell pepper boat, threw some veggies in a baggie and was back on my ass in time for The Husband to make me suffer through the end of “World War Z.”

The potatoes I had for breakfast? Came already cut up. Our market has a nice little space in the produce section with fresh cut vegetables ready to bring home and cook. I’ll admit some aren’t worth the price. Like, I’m perfectly capable of buying a zucchini and squash and slicing them up on my own instead of paying $5 for the already sliced package of them. But other things – like the pre-cut butternut squash – totally worth it. These diced potatoes and peppers were $2.99 for a good size container. It was enough to feed both of us for two breakfasts.

As long as you’re able to think about these things ahead of time, this is an easy lifestyle to maintain. And it gets easier, the more you train yourself to do it. I can already tell you what I’m having for my next two meals. We got in a habit of waiting until late in the the afternoon to think about dinner, and by that time we’re usually too tired to develop a game plan. When it gets to that point, it’s easy to just say “Screw it, let’s go out!” By the end of the night you’ve eaten an extra 1,000 calories, probably had a drink or two, and spent $50 or more. Total dollar value for my Day 4 food was probably between $10 and $12. AND I got to eat a super duper delicious dinner.

Like I said: Home run.

Note: This is a re-post from the Tumblr version of this blog. It originally ran on April 1, 2016.

whole30: day three.

Posted on by thedingismything

Today was hard.

Not because I was hungry, or felt like I couldn’t eat anything. Today was hard because it was the first really stressful day I’ve had while on Whole 30. It made me realize just how much I actually stress eat.

Typically on a day like today, after a looong day at work when I was juggling a dozen projects at once, I would reach for a big ol’ bag of chips or ask The Husband if we could go hit up a happy hour somewhere. At the very least we’d open a bottle of wine or go pick up some Menchie’s.

Mmmmmmmmmenchie’s. I miss you so very much.

We hosted a breakfast meeting at our office today, and I had to help set up the food. Coffee, juice, fruit and a tray of bagels and pastries and muffins. Oh my.

Setting it out was no problem; I had just gotten to work and I wasn’t emotionaly drained yet. But by lunch, it was a different story.

The meeting was over and the room had cleared out. I poked my head in the empty room and saw there were still some pastries left on the tray. Ordinarily I would bring the tray downstairs and set it in the office kitchen for everyone to help themselves. Not today. I couldn’t go near it. I knew the temptation was too much. If I came within smelling distance of that sugary buttery carbohydrate goodness, I would have taken a bite.

Instead, I ran from the room and distracted myself until it was time to heat up my lunch. (Thank you, leftover meatballs.) Then I instructed someone else to adios the baked goods so I wouldn’t have to deal with it. Crisis averted.

The one thing that really prevented me from diving face-first into a cinnamon roll-induced shame was the realization that I wasn’t even hungry. But I so desperately wanted to stuff my face. How often do I eat when I’m not hungry??? Apparently, more than I realize.

I’m happy to say the day wasn’t a total wash. By the time I got through traffic and made it home, The Husband had made an amazing dinner for us.

Ladies, let me tell you something. There are few things hotter than a man who knows his way around a kitchen. No wonder I’m emotionally attached to food.

But look at this! Who wouldn’t fall for a guy who makes something look as good as this.

That’s a little Whole 30 chicken cacciatore, which was as delicious as it was easy to make. The Husband said on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being getting take-out, this recipe is a 3.5. Not too shabby!

P.S. The cute wittle face peeking up in that photo is my cat Boots. He’s a rascal.

Note: This is a re-post from the Tumblr version of this blog. It originally ran on March 31, 2016.